Renovations begin on Columbia Housing apartments

Dozens of families have lived in every one Columbia Housing and Redevelopment Corporation’s 296 low-income, subsidized apartments since they were built more than 50 years ago.

The red-brick exterior and concrete block interior Creekside Acres and Southern Hills homes were opened in 1962 and never had undergone renovation — until now.

Columbia Housing aand Knoxville’s LHP Development closed on a $10 million deal May 23, allowing for renovations to begin in the low-income, affordable rental units in south Columbia.

Residents have been moved from the first 20 units scheduled for construction. The first four will return to July 25 to new interior painting, energy-saving appliances, bathroom fixtures, cabinets, doors and more new features in their homes. New ceilings with fresh insulation will be installed.

“We were eager to get the renovations started,” Columbia Housing Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer said Trent Ogilvie said. “It is exciting to see work crews at Creekside Acres and Southern Hills and to know that our dreams of better housing for residents are starting to come true.”

On average, $40,000 will be spent to remodel each unit, Ogilvie said. It will take about 14 months to complete both properties in phase one of construction. Creekside has 74 apartments and Southern Hills 66, ranging in size from one to four bedrooms. In phase two, Columbia Housing’s Northridge, Northridge Annex and Oakwood properties will be renovated.

“Nothing major of a comprehensive nature has been done here,” said Ogilvie, adding that upgraded windows, lighting and water systems were installed in 2012. “Through the years, the inside of the apartments has became worn and not ascetically pleasing.

“You have to modernize the apartments to make sure people who are staying there are getting a quality apartment, like other complexes in the area. It’s about affordability, yes, but it’s also about upgrading to a modern apartment of 2017.”

The average resident pays about $200 a month in rent, Ogilvie said, depending on income. A federal government subsidy pays the rest. Each apartment would rent for $585 if a resident paid in full.

“We’re very fortunate to be able to upgrade our apartments,” Ogilvie said. “We have found a way to finance it through unique partnerships. Not every city Columbia’s size has affordable housing.”

The demand for Columbia’s low-cost housing means few come available for rent per year. Ogilvie said he wishes Columbia had more and that the agency could fill twice as many.

“I’m glad we’re able to upgrade the homes,’ Columbia Mayor Dean Dickey said. “The city can take pride in what’s being done, and I know the residents will, too. It hasn’t been done in more than 50 years.”

Barry Jernigan of National Capital Investment in Knoxville, which won the $8 million bid for the project, said he expects to finish the first phase in 2018. Residents are moving out of their own units — into other available Columbia Housing apartments temporarily — until their renovations have been completed.

“Starting July 25, we will be returning four units back to residents on Tuesdays, and they will give us four more units to start every Thursday,” Jernigan said. “It takes about 30 days to renovate the average unit. When we’re rolling, we four out, and four in.”

The facelifts at Creekside Acres and Southern Hills will be more than cosmetic, said David Arning, vice president of LHP Development.

Nine apartments of varying bedroom sizes will be equipped with entry door and smoke detector systems with audible and visual alarms to meet the needs of people with hearing or sight impairments. Another 10 apartments will have interior layouts, door widths and other apartment features modified to accommodate a resident’s wheelchair and to meet accessibility standards.

“Every person deserves a safe and secure place to live and the transformation of these properties will have a positive impact on the Columbia community for years to come,” Arning said. “It takes many people from business and government working together to make substantial renovations like this possible, and we were fortunate to have the support of key state and local partners.”

Each site has a community building. All will be modified during the renovation to provide a modern community room with fully-accessible kitchen and bath facilities as well as a computer lab area for residents to use, Ogilvie said.

Columbia Housing worked with LHP Development and Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation to secure financing for the project, Ogilvie said.

“The deal utilizes the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, which allows public housing authorities to leverage private capital to renovate aging affordable housing stock,” Ogilvie said. “The program ensures that public housing converted to RAD remain affordable to low- and very low-income households.”

Columbia Housing is using a combination of RAD and low-income housing tax credits from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency to finance the projects. The financing includes more than $6.8 million in equity provided by First Tennessee Housing Corporation in its role as investor limited partner.